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Clan Songs Project
The
Tlingít Clan Song Project, “Tlingít Naa Sheex’i,” is an ongoing effort
by Sealaska Heritage Institute to record, translate and transcribe
Southeast Alaska Native Clan songs and associated stories. SHI recently
recorded songs from four Clans through a grant from the federal Tribal
Historic Preservation Fund Grants program.
The clan songs project was conceived of with two objectives in mind.
The first objective was to compile a series of clan songs and their accompanying stories as a means of recording and understanding the indigenous history of the Tlingít. The phrase “indigenous history” refers to what is generally designated as mythological, prehistoric and historic times. More often these songs harken back to legendary times and significant events of a clan’s history. They are sung primarily within traditional ceremonies and evoke the spirits of ancestors inviting their participation in the ongoing ceremony.
The
second objective of the project was seen as a pedagogical method to
teach the Tlingít language. In additional to ceremonial songs,
Tlingít songs are also sung in secular events by non-clan based dance
groups. The formation of dance groups is a recent innovation, and their
performance is limited to secular events rather than ceremonies. Today
approximately 50 dance groups exist comprised of approximately 1,700
members, but a greater percentage of these dance group members sing a
repertoire of Tlingít clan songs. This project has also helped in the
area of language revitalization, as some of the words in some of the
older songs and their associated histories are words that had fallen out
of use, and had been mostly forgotten. SHI believed that a large number
of individuals could begin to learn Tlingít if the words were written
and translated and were made available to them.
In
order for dance groups to be able to sing clan songs, a member of the
clan owning the song must be a member of the dance group or the clan
must grant the dance group the right to sing its song. The proper
protocol calls for the dance group to acknowledge and name of the clan
that owns the song it is going to sing. The songs sung by a dance group
are generally limited to those songs that are classified as Love songs.
These songs are dedicated to the “Children of a Clan.” Children of a
Clan are individuals whose fathers are members of the clan owning the
song. For example, if the Kaagwaantaan sang one of its Love songs,
they would sing to the Kaagwaantaan Yátx’i or “Children of the
Kaagwaantaan.” Other types of songs, such as Sprit or Sorrow
songs, are generally not sung by dance groups or outside of the
ceremonies.
Since
clans own most songs, four individuals, two from each moiety -- Eagle
and Raven -- were selected for the first phase of this project to
record five or more of their clan songs and stories. The clans that
participated in the first phase of this project were the: Lukaax.ádi,
Kaagwaantaan, Shangukeidí and T’akdeintaan. They were advised
that the Sealaska Heritage Institute would copyright the songs and
stories on behalf of the participating clans. The songs, translations
and stories along with videotapes and CD’s will be made available at
cost to clan members. Some of the songs that were recorded are trade
songs that were obtained from Interior Indians. At this time, SHI does
not have the translations for these songs, but we have sent them to the
appropriate tribes for translations.
We must stress that these songs are owned by specific clans and in some instances by individuals. Under Tlingít law, they cannot be reproduced or sung unless permission has been granted by the owning clan or individual.
This
project has greatly improved tribal historic preservation, in that the
Tlingít clans in great part tell their histories through the vehicle of
clan songs. Generally, Clans had not organized their songs in this
fashion, with the song’s words and associated histories written together
and then placed with the audio and visual aids. This format will
help to establish a system that can be carried over to many other
aspects of Tlingít culture that we are trying to preserve and
revitalize.
Many of our clan leaders, who reviewed the Clan Songs materials, have exclaimed things such as “This will be of such help to our young people,” and “It is about time we had these as a teaching tool!”
The Mission of Sealaska Heritage Institute seeks to promote and protect the Tlingít, Haida and Tsimshian Cultures. The Board of Trustees offers this project as a small measure to accomplish this Mission. For more information contact Kathy Miller at kathy.miller@sealaska.com.